Project Description

Client:City of Marietta

Project Status:Completed in 2004

Project Overview:• Identify locally-preferred location for a planned BRT station
• Define a vision for the vicinity of the BRT station
• Feasibility study for development including recommendations for a Tax Allocation District

DELK TOD LCI MASTER PLAN

Marietta, Georgia

In 2004 TSW’s services were retained by the City of Marietta to provide community design, land use planning, transportation planning, and public involvement services for the Delk TOD LCI Master Plan. A subconsultant to Basile Baumann Prost & Associates, a market research and project feasibility leader, TSW facilitated a process that focused on identifying a locally-preferred location for a planned Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) station and then using that station as a catalyst for private investment, while examining the feasibility of potential private sector developments in the vicinity of the proposed station.

Over the course of a six month planning process that included three public workshops, TSW worked with area residents, businesses, and property owners to identify a preferred location for the BRT station and define a vision for its vicinity. The final land use strategy called for establishing several walkable neighborhood and town centers in different parts of the Study Area. Each center would be within walking distance of existing residential concentrations and would include shops, above-shop housing, open space and neighborhood services. Density would vary depending on access to transit, topography, and market feasibility.

The Study also called for a multimodal transportation system. Greenways, bike lanes, streetscapes, sidewalks, and enhanced transit facilities were envisioned to connect proposed centers, including a new multiuse greenway along Rottenwood Creek that provides a critical linkage between existing City and County facilities. Long-term, Franklin Road would also be widened to create a four lane boulevard with bike lanes and wide sidewalks, while a new street would connect it and the BRT station to Cobb Parkway (US 41).

Concurrent with the land use strategy was a detailed feasibility study that reviewed the ability of potential neighborhood and town centers to develop under current market conditions. Market demand was gauged and development pro-formas created. A study of the ability of said developments to support a Tax Allocation District (TAD) was also undertaken. Findings of the TAD study confirmed that the proposed developments could generate sufficient revenue to issue bonds financing proposed public sector investment if a TAD were created.